AMERICAN EPIC: The Collection gathers 100 of these original recordings from the 1920s and 1930s in one five-disc set, restored to unprecedented levels of sonic fidelity. For this box set, compiled by Director Bernard MacMahon, engineer Nicholas Bergh refined a transfer process using a mix of both modern and vintage equipment in order to extract the remarkable resolution from the records that is often missed. This reverse engineering approach to the transfer process enabled the restoration team of Grammy Award-winning engineer Peter Henderson, Duke Erikson and Joel Tefteller to get the resulting audio closer to the original performance than ever before.

This is not "remastering," in the normal sense, but something closer to fine art restoration. The intent is not for people to marvel at the antiquity of these discs, but rather to experience them as vital, immediate performances that speak to us as directly as they did on the day they were recorded not simply great art for their time, but great art for all times. It includes a 100-page book filled with stunning unpublished photographs, quotes from the artists, their friends and families, lyrics for every song, essays and recording notes. Among the artists included are Mississippi John Hurt, The Carter Family, Charley Patton, Jimmie Rodgers, Lydia Mendoza, Nelstone's Hawaiians, Big Chief Henry's String Band, Robert Johnson and many others.

1 The Coo Coo Bird (The Cuckoo) by Clarence Ashley 2 On the Road Again by Memphis Jug Band 3 The Panama Limited by Bukka White 4 Indian War Whoop by Hoyt Ming and His Pep Steppers 5 'Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do, Pt. 1 by Frank Stokes 6 K. C. Railroad Blues by Andrew & Jim Baxter 7 I Am Bound for the Promised Land by Alfred G. Karnes 8 Cottonfield Blues, Pt. 2 by Garfield Akers 9 I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground by Bascom Lamar Lunsford 10 Down On Penny's Farm by The Bentley Boys 11 Foldin' Bed by Whistler'S Jug Band 12 Greenback Dollar by Weems String Band 13 Tallahatchie River Blues by Mattie Delaney 14 Walk Right In by Cannon's Jug Stompers 15 Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow by The Carter Family 16 Old Dog Blue by Jim Jackson 17 Bayou Teche by Columbus Fruge 18 Cool Drink of Water Blues by Tommy Johnson 19 Train On the Island by J. P. Nestor

Disc 2 1 My Heart Keeps Singing by Elder J.E. Burch 2 Ninety-Nine Year Blues by Julius Daniels 3 I Get My Whiskey From Rockingham by Earl Johnson & His Clodhoppers 4 Death's Black Train Is Coming by Rev. J. M. Gates 5 Waiting for a Train by Jimmie Rodgers 6 Darling, Where Have You Been So Long? by The Tenneva Ramblers 7 Rocky Road by Alabama Sacred Harp Singers 8 Ma Blond Est Partie by Amadie Breaux, Ophey Breaux & Cleoma Breaux 9 Peg and Awl by Carolina Tar Heels 10 Chocolate to the Bone by Barbecue Bob 11 Down On Me by Eddie Head and Family 12 Prenez Courage by Cleoma Breaux with Joseph Falcon and Ophy Breaux 13 Pickin' Off Peanuts by Dilly & His Dill Pickles 14 Just Because by Nelstone'S Hawaiians 15 Dupree Blues by Willie Walker 16 Ladies On the Steamboat by Burnett & Rutherford 17 Mamma, 'Tain't Long Fo' Day by Blind Willie McTell